I am not a teacher, but have some teacher friends and would like to pose a question for all those teachers out there:
The TI-8x & TI-92/92+ calculators contain a lot of programming 'power'. (There's a lot of free programs out there.) The 89/92/92+ can actually solve the problems for the students without the need for programming. [ a simple SOLVE(x^2=4,x) yields 'x=2 or x=-2'] How do you manage the responsible use of those calculators.
I just reciently re-took a precalc class (after being away from math for half a lifetime). In that class, we could use anything from a TI-82 to a TI-92+. The purpose was for graphing, but there was a lot of stuff I could have cheated on, because I knew the calculator could do the math. I did use its features to check my homework, which I believe to be a responsible use of it's abilities.
So, I ask, "Do you police the students use of calculators & how? What liberties do you allow those that 'program' their own solutions vs. those that 'steal' others programs for class?"
Please forgive my liberty at using the word 'steal', but I am sure the authors of these programs never intended them to be used dishonestly.
7ony